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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168087">Kirby and The Princess' Curse</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taiyou_no_Himiko/pseuds/Taiyou_no_Himiko'>Taiyou_no_Himiko</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kirby (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A bit darker than usual but not too much, Gen, I'm not an english native speaker, Redemption tale, Translation of my own work, so please be kind to me &gt;.&lt;</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:41:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168087</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taiyou_no_Himiko/pseuds/Taiyou_no_Himiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Extract of the first chapter: <i>Quick footsteps resounded through the empty corridor in the shadow, only brightened by the silvery light of the moon, whose rays filtered through the large windows of the palace.</i></p><p> <i>A silhouette of a notably short girl dashed in backlight, she held a bluish sphere-shaped crystal against her chest. Her hands were covered by different size bleeding cuts. The girl panted because of the pain and the effort of running, but tried to bear up with all the force of will she was capable of, without giving any hint to stop, with the only concern to take the crystal as far away as possible from the palace and her planet.</i></p><p> <i>A sole thought crossed her mind: she had to escape.</i></p><p> <br/>This is the english translation of my story originally posted on EFP, an Italian fanfiction archive.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kirby and The Princess' Curse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/645769">Kirby e la maledizione della principessa</a> by Taiyou_no_Himiko.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I want to confess something: in my entire "career" as fanwriter I've always written everything I was suggested by a constantly creative mind of mine, even if everything I put into writing and published isn't even a quarter of all movies and TV series my brain is producing every single day, but I didn't try to write a story about one of my favourite videogames ever until now, i.e. Kirby.<br/>Not because I couldn't, but for the simple reason that such an indea didn't even slightly cross my mind before.<br/>However, as expected, in summer of 2017 that idea finally peered inside my head, pushing me to make it come true and...well, this is the final result.<br/>It doesn't matter if it's "childish" to write such a story. Honestly, I don't care.<br/>Before I leave you to your reading, I would like to give you some explanations. First, chronologically speaking, my story is set after the events of Planet: Robobot and before Star Allies so, guys, always keep it in mind. Second, in general and, especially, for the characterization of the characters I'm more inspired by the games than the anime, so, for example, you'll never see Kirby speaking with the 'poyoish' language, but rather with a more articulate one, as well as there are not any characters of the anime like Fumu (Tiff in the American dub) or Escargoon. For the rest I put a bit of my creativity into the story, not that it takes a great effort to do that, considering that the almost total absence of the plot and the basic characterization of every character are predominant in such a game. And that's all. I hope my story can be appreciated by both fans and non fans.<br/>That being said, I wish you a good read. &lt;3</p><p>N.B - This is the english translation of the original version that can be found on the following link: https://efpfanfic.net/viewstory.php?sid=3744755&amp;i=1<br/>Since English isn't my first language, there may be grammar mistakes. In that case, please let me know in the comments below.<br/>N.B 2 - The text is written in British English, not the American one.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Quick footsteps resounded through the empty corridor in the shadow, only brightened by the silvery light of the moon, whose rays filtered through the large windows of the palace.</p><p>A silhouette of a notably short girl dashed in backlight, she held a bluish sphere-shaped crystal against her chest. Her hands were covered by different size bleeding cuts. The girl panted because of the pain and the effort of running, but tried to bear up with all the force of will she was capable of, without giving any hint to stop, with the only concern to take the crystal as far away as possible from the palace and her planet.</p><p>A sole thought crossed her mind: she had to escape.</p><p>There was no choice, she was sure it was only a matter of time before he found out about what she had done, and in that case his reaction wouldn't have been long in coming.</p><p>In fact, knowing him, at this moment he will have already learnt about everything by his Eye, ordered his men to go after her and, once captured, force her to give him the crystal back no matter what it takes and finally inflict on her the ultimate punishment. She got chills just thinking about it, but fearing for her own safety wasn't her top priority right now. If she managed to save herself and leave the planet unscathed, she could...</p><p>Before she was able to conclude her thought, she heard the echo of a metallic sound behind her, which startled her and made her stop to listen.</p><p>"It can't be..." she whispered in a choked voice.</p><p>She suddenly turned her head, making sure to hold the crystal very tightly, her eyes met an empty corridor which now was wrapped in a silence that gave her a sense of imminent danger. Apparently it seemed there was nobody there, but her instinct advised her to not let her guard down and, if necessary, be ready to fight in order to defend herself.</p><p>Someone was hunting her down, she was sure, there was the only creature in this planet capable of producing that such creepy sound. If her supposition turned out to be true, then there would be no possibility for her to escape undisturbed from the palace, as he always could track down his enemies' position thanks to his weapon which sensed their aura within a certain distance.</p><p>It really was the worst thing that could happen to her in this moment. There was the only one thing to do.</p><p>The girl stayed where she was, waiting for her pursuer to show himself to her and stop playing the usual mind game to instill anxiety in his preys before attacking and throwing himself at them without sparing himself just to destroy them once for all.</p><p>It wasn't by chance that he earned the title of The Bloody Executioner, a very appropriate nickname considering his extreme brutality with which the subject in question assaulted his victims.</p><p>Another metallic sound came from the end of the corridor as if he wanted to make his presence felt on purpose; the girl assumed an attack position, lifting her arm, aware that soon she would have to engage in a hard battle against the Executioner. Her chance to survive were pretty uncertain, also because, at this very moment, she wasn't in the best condition to stand up to him, since she consumed most of her magical energies to destroy the complex protection inside which the crystal was put.</p><p>But one thing she was absolutely sure of: she would never have given up for no reason in the world, not without fighting before!</p><p>In the corridor the echo of that sound died away again, immediately replaced by a very unnatural silence, which in fact lasted a handful of seconds, but instead seemed to the girl to endlessly extend. Then, suddenly, from the end of the corridor a long chain of sharp blades dashed straight at her at shocking speed with a view to pierce right through her heart and give her a most atrocious death possibile, in his holder very fashion.</p><p>"Ethereal Shield!" the girl shouted.</p><p>A white energy sphere took alive from the palm of her right hand, which instantly extended in front of herself until forming a longer oval, big enough to completely cover her. The triangular tip of the chain clashed against the magical shield that didn't let it plant itself into her chest, producing in the impact a resonant crackling echoing off the high walls of the corridor and a bunch of flickering sparks illuminating the entire surrounding area, dimming the pale light of the moon.</p><p>However, after just a few seconds, crack were formed in the shield that emitted a loud cracking noise, branching out of the spot in which the blade was breaking through, to forcefully penetrate and reach its target, threatening to shatter at any moment.</p><p>The girl ground her teeth. Under other circumstances, she would have been able to create a more powerful and stronger Ethereal Shield than this weaker one. Repelling such an attack would have been a child's play to her, but apparently luck wasn't on her side, determined to grant her opponent its generous kisses out of malice.</p><p>It was already a miracle that, at any rate, she was able to not get killed at the first attempt, despite her strength was almost completely drained. But she was very aware that a frail defensive spell wouldn't have protected her from the following attacks and that soon she should have got prepared herself for the idea of being hit by those perpetually bloodthirsty blades regardless and having her flesh tore in such a way as to turn her into a bloody shapeless mass of meat to show everyone with sick pride as a trophy to have executed the traitor who did dare to steal one fo the sacred treasures of the Kingdom of Caelius.</p><p>As if to confirm her worst fear, the shield, reached its limit, exploded into a thousand white fragments which immediately dissolved in the air like little specks of dust in the sunlight.</p><p>The tip of chain, blocked by the magical shield a moment ago, started again to run its course and reached its original target in a heartbeat.</p><p>And it would have pierced her heart if the girl hadn't got the strength to dodge it sideways at the last second and throw herself down on the floor, holding the crystal stained with her own blood which was still bleeding from the still fresh wounds.</p><p>She couldn't prevent the blades from barely grazing her right shoulder, making her moan out loud from the pain, but she thanked herself for being fast enough to manage to a great extent in every situation.</p><p>She took a quick look at the crystal, relieved to see intact and firm in her hands, and fixed her eyes on he who launched such murderous attack against her and retracted the chain of blades.</p><p>After a brief moment of silence, her ears detected the echo of slow and calculated steps which, as seconds went by, became increasingly clear, followed by the sound of a long and rhythmical clapping as if she gave a brilliant theatrical performance.</p><p>"I have to congratulate you, <i>princess</i> Celeste." A voice started speaking, emphasizing the word 'princess' with ill-concealed sarcasm.</p><p>"Even being in a bad shape, you were agile enough to block my attack and prevent yourself from dying like a miserable as you are. That was really impressive, I'll give you that."</p><p>"Juga..." the girl called Celeste said, grinding her teeth without stopping looking at her pursuer with incensed eyes.</p><p>"And you know what? A part of me hoped for that. I'd have been very disappointed if you'd died already, in that case my Angaros wouldn't have got its healthy share of fun."</p><p>Juga stopped applauding, his figure, protected by the dim light in which the corridor was enveloped until now, emerged into the moonlight, revealing himself entirely.</p><p>He was an antique bronze coloured sphere-shaped little creature wearing a platinum mask that didn't cover his mismatched eyes - amber in the right one and fully opaque in the left one - and his mouth; he had spiky spaulders, iron gloves and a pair of armoured sabatons of the same material. He carried on the right side a silver sword which didn't seem have anything special at first, but the various segments being present over its entire length hid a lethal secret of its real nature.</p><p>The vicious aura surrounding him allowed him to stand out from all the other members of the Royal Guard of Caelius, able to make everyone who had the misfortune to be in his proximity feel in awe, except for few people who never displayed submission to him, and the princess was one of them.</p><p>Extremely pleased with the fighting spirit that the girl showed to him, Juga gave her a smug smile and then added: "I see you haven't lost the fire blazing in those pretty eyes of yours every time you look straight at me. But it's no use acting tough, my dear, you're not in the right position...literally."</p><p>He roared with laughter at those final words, having the sole effect of annoying Celeste who snarled low in her throat and snapped: "Enough of jokes, Juga, and go straight to the point!"</p><p>Suddenly, his laughter died. A sinister light sparked his only functioning eye while a serious expression painted his face such that it made Celeste shiver, putting her in a cold sweat, since she already understood the meaning of that abrupt change.</p><p>"You're right. Stop chichats and let's cut to the chase."</p><p>Juga moved a step forward towards her, leaving from the cone of the pale light that highlighted the profile of his bizzarre body.</p><p>"His Majesty the King came to learn about your deranged plan to steal the sacred crystal from our planet in order to deprive us of its splendour forever and, of course, he was very saddened by that."</p><p>"Yeah, saddened enough to demand my head to cheer himself up." Celeste remarked sarcastically.</p><p>"If I were you, I'd hold my tongue, you filthy snake! Anyway, I didn't come here to take your head, but it's only up to you."</p><p>"What do you mean?" the princess asked defensively.</p><p>"I mean this: like I said, your deed distressed your brother deeply. If someone else had committed that such thing, he'd have sentenced them to death penalty without thinking twice, but since you're still his sister, by virtue of his affection for you he ordered me to find you without warning the other guards and give you a chance to redeem yourself from guilt, as long as you give him back what is his by right. If you regret your actions and accept the mercy of our King, you'll serve your sentence for the rest of your life in the Tower of Isolation until you die, renouncing the title of Princess of Caelius. If not..."</p><p>The half-blind knight stretched his left hand, grabbed the hilt, pulled the sword out of its scabbard and, with a gliding movement of his hand, the rigid blade became a whip made of sharp blades tied to one another, fastly lashing at the floor on which deep cracks were formed near his feet. Facing such ferocity, Celeste just flinched.</p><p>"...I'll personally take charge of your execution." Juga finished in an intimidating tone.</p><p>The princess looked once at the puffball, once at the whip sword he held in his hand. She feared what that weapon was capable of, but the last thing she wanted at that exact moment was to betray her turmoil, so she tried to keep her expression stern and impassive. She would never give up even if the scythe of the Grim Reaper was about to lower relentlessly on her neck.</p><p>"These are your options. Your call, babe." Juga warned her with a scornful smile.</p><p>At the point, the girl stood up with much effort, stumbling at times, and, without taking her eyes off the knight, said with a commanding inflection in her voice: "How dare you talk to me about guilt and punishment as if I were a criminal here! If there's the only one who actually deserves to be sentenced to death penalty is my brother Falco!"</p><p>Juga stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then his face twisted into a violent sneer, his lips pressing tightly together and his hand strengthening its grip on thet scabbard of his Angaros, putting a strong pressure on it.</p><p>"What did you say?" Juga asked, pronouncing every single word with strained rage.</p><p>"You have the cheek to call merciful a man who commits such heinous actions even against his own people. A deviant person like him isn't worthy of guarding the Cimgar, nor owning the title of King."</p><p>While Celeste kept talking, she clutched the crystal to her chest in a protective way as if she feared they could take it away from her at any time.</p><p>"And, just to clarify, the Cimgar has never been his by right; it's not something to own as a personal possession, it's a gift from the namesake God given to the first guardian for the sake of peace and prosperity of our planet. Taking possession of it and using it for perverse purposes is a very serious insult to the Lord of the crystal, Falco should know that. I couldn't let such blasphemy to corrupt its immense splendour, that's why I shattered the case that treasured the crystal. It was harder than I imagined, but I finally made it."</p><p>The princess lowered her head and lingered for a moment on her bloodied cuts on her hands that ruined her untarnished complexion, the proofs that attested how far she went to protect the crystal. Then she lifted her gaze, her coral pink eyes shining with determinaion without a shadow of uncertainty and regret in them. She decided everything even before she made her way to the Azure Room to destroy the case her brother specifically created for preventing anyone from stealing the Cimgar.</p><p>"So, my <i>dear</i> Juga" she continued, putting a sarcastic accent on the word 'dear', "I won't give him the Cimgar back. Not now, not ever. And If he really wants it, he has to do it in person instead of making others do the dirty work like a real coward."</p><p>Juga, who until then stayed silent just gritting his teeth for the fury growing inside him, lifted the arm which held the whip sword and hurled against Celeste, enveloping her body so as to not give her time to dodge again and escape with the crystal.</p><p>Trapped in the sharp spirals of the Angaros, the princess tried to wiggle out of them with all her strength, while at the same time being careful not to drop the crystal, but as result, she rubbed herself against the blades of the whip sword that scarred her skin with long bloody scratches and ripped her blue silk dress. Now she was at the mercy of the platinum knight.</p><p>"No one dares to disrespect my King, especially a hypocrite like you!" Juga hissed, highlighting the last sentence vehemently.</p><p>If he wanted to, he would spit that impudent kid in the face, but he had just in mind a more efficient method to take her down and he already couldn't wait to put it into practice. His mouth bent into a feral smile at that thought.</p><p>Juga stared at Celeste for a moment, then said viciously: "And now you gonna pay the consequences."</p><p>As soon as she opened her eyes wide with horror, the Executioner triumphantly yelled: "White Agony!"</p><p>In no time electric shocks were created, going through the length of the chain and reaching Celeste, who was wrapped by intense shock waves, letting out screams of pain echoing off the high walls of the corridor.</p><p>Those such agonised sound were music to Juga's ears, who watched delightfully the body of the princess falling prey to the convulsions, her face pursing in a mask of pure suffering.</p><p>The torture lasted an incalculable time, even when the screams suddenly stopped until at a certain point Juga, with a jerk of his arm, retracted the chain of blades and released Celeste who, while collapsing on the floor, dropped the crystal that didn't shatter into a thousand pieces and slid to Juga's feet.</p><p>He lined his sword, hooking it to his right side, lowered himself to pick up the crystal and turned it over in his fingers between being enraptured by its amazing brilliance and being disgusted be seeing it dirty with the blood of the rebel princess lying face down on the floor, lifeless, definitely electrocuted to death almost immediately.</p><p>Well, she got what she deserved. He didn't regret using that attack at all, he was positive the Cimgar wouldn't have taken any damage given its innate resistance to any natural element, it was forged by the Lord of the crystal in person for nothing. In nature it didn't exist something more powerful and perfect than such a divine gift.</p><p>The princess was wrong about one thing: only a person endowed with an immeasurable power was worthy of possessing the Cimgar and being considered to be the only and legitimate spokesman of the namesake god and the person in question was none other than the actual King of Caelius, blessed since birth by a great intelligence and an unrivaled magic prowess. What do the common scum and that dull princess know about the meaning of being the master of a prodigy that transcended everything?</p><p>Satisfied with having completed the task the King gave him, Juga looked quickly at Celeste's body and was about to go away when he suddenly caught a wheeze behind his shoulders, which made him jerk and turn back fast.</p><p>What he saw left him dumbfounded: the body of the girl moved again, that means, for some reason, she wasn't dead as he expected. Actually, it was as if White Agony stunned her rather than kill her instantly.</p><p>"What the-" Juga could just say it with his eyes wide open and confusion in his voice. That was impossibile, nobody was survived by an attack of such strength! What kind of joke was that?!</p><p>In spite of the piercing pain spreading through her body, Celeste raised her head with difficulty and began crawling on the floor with the goal of approaching Juga and getting back the crystal.</p><p>"You damn witch!" the knight barked while pulling Angaros out of its scabbard again, ready to use it against the princess once more. "I don't know how you did it, but don't think you can do this again!"</p><p>Celeste ignored his threat, not giving him a hint of her giving up to move forward, and stretched out her arm to the left hand carrying the crystal.</p><p>"DIE!" Juga roared, waving the whip sword and lowering in onto her. The girl closed her eyes instinctively and expected the finishing blow to come. But it never did.</p><p>"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"</p><p>A terrible cry broke forth, such that Celeste opened her eyes again, raising her gaze, and a surprised moan escaped her lips. Something she could have ever imagined was occuring before her eyes: Juga's face morphed into a pained expression that didn't suit at all a creature who was dedicated to giving others suffering, his Angaros laid abandoned at his feet, the crystal kept in his hand was enveloped by a blue glare so dazzling that the girl had to lift an arm to shield her eyes, from which she clearly heard an incessant frizzle buzzing in her ears.</p><p>"WHAT-WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!!" Juga screamed terrified, even though he still had a grip on the crystal.</p><p>The mouth of the girl spread into a smile of joy. The Cimgar...was helping her! Not only did it accept ger silent cry for help, but also saved her life making sure the electric shocks didn't reach her heart and cause a cardiac arrest. It had to be said: she had been spared by the god Cimgar. No wonder He gave her a chance to survive so she could go on with her mission for the safety of her planet that she set herself since long ago. Yes, there was no other possible explanations, after all the Lord of the crystal chose well who was suited to carrying out His will and it was foolish to think to bend it for their own ambitions for power.</p><p>Reached his breaking point, Juga shook the Cimgar off: the iron covering of the glove was melted due to the high heat emanated by the crystal that now fluctuated mid-air, surrounded by its peculiar light, illuminating the dark area of the corridor like a little star descended from the sky giving its splendour to a world buried in a deeper darkness by then.</p><p>Then, moving of its accord, it soared towards Celeste, who reached out her arms and copped her hands in order to receive the crystal which laid there with delicacy. Contrary to Juga, it happened nothing to Celeste, in fact a pleasant glow warmed up her wounded hands amost if somehow it wanted to soothe all the pain she had to endure thus far.</p><p>Her eyes misted over with tears, her lips trembling a little, the girl murmured with a voice shaking with emotion: "Almighty God Cimgar, Supreme Lord of the crystal...I beg Your forgiveness for all the sins we committed until today and have mercy on those who went through because of our immoral choices."</p><p>Celeste closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting her tears wet her eyelashes and pour down her cheeks. Then she opened them again, full of a renewed determination, and continued more confident: "And also for what I'm going to do. This is the last time I'm guilty of a despicable crime."</p><p>"What the hell are you talking about?" Juga mumbled as he clutched his burnt hand.</p><p>Celeste didn't reply, she just closed her eyes again and raised both her arms, looking visibly focused. At first Juga stared at her puzzled, asking himself what she meant to do with the crystal. Then, all of sudden, her lips moved, starting formulating sentences that allarmed the puffball, who was goggle-eyed and exhaled with a choking sound as if his voice was lacking.</p><p>No, she couldn't be so insane to...</p><p>"S-STOP!"</p><p>Juga had just time to say that, before a blue dazzling glare fully hit him and made him cover his eyes with an arm for some seconds. Then, when the light disappeared and the knight lowered his arm, he was alone.</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p> </p><p>There was spring in the air in Dream Land. The scent of flowers just bloomed was so vivid that smelled several miles away, giving its residents a joyful and bright vibe. The Whispy Woods had decided to decorate their luxuriant leafleats with cherry blossom flowers to celebrate in grand style the arrival of spring, in hopes of someone sitting under their shadow to sprinkle them of tiny delicate pink petals.</p><p>Kirby, King Dedede and his most loyal servant, Bandana Dee, granted that wish; they had wanted to take that opportunity to organise a picnic with friends and at the same time admire the cherry trees' blossoming. Unfortunately, Meta Knight couldn't join them, since he had to finish the fixing of the Halberd, which suffered major damages following the fervent battle against Star Dream, but he promised them that he would pop in to see them as soon as possible for a visit. For that time King Dedede would have taken care to save for the masked knight the best sake ever made in entire Dream Land.</p><p>"Not to brag, but such deliciousness can only be made by my extra refined rice plantations, in addition to my amazing team of artisan Waddle Dees, of course." Dedede praised with pride in his voice.</p><p>"What a gasbag." Kirby commented, amused.</p><p>"Whatever, but for now you can only see a sake like this in your dreams!" Dedede mocked him as he sipped that tasty drink served in a black tiny cup, decorated with his personalised logo.</p><p>"That's because you don't wanna give me a taste!" The pink puffball complained, inflating his cheeks.</p><p>"You're a brat, when you grow up I'll - maybe - allow you to have a sip of it."</p><p>"I'm not a brat, I'm already grown up!"</p><p>"To me you're still a brat and I'll say it again: no sake for you."</p><p>"Geeeeez!"</p><p>"Kirby, I have some cherry juice if you want." Bandana Dee chimed in, handing out the above-mentioned juice.</p><p>"But that's not the same thing!" Kirby whined mournful, grabbing the cup given by Bandana Dee, resigned to drink something more suitable for him at least for a while. Then he raised his gaze towards the cherry blossoms which decorated Whispy Woods' branches above him, his eyes shining with amazement.</p><p>"How wonderful!" he exclaimed, enraptured.</p><p>"That's true, they are really amazing." Bandana Dee agreed.</p><p>"Fresh and energising air, cherry blossoms in bloom, a superb sake and some yummy snacks...everything is so perfect. What could possibly go wrong?" Dedede said dreamily.</p><p>"Well, I don't know...an alien invasion?" Kirby asked half-serious.</p><p>"I thought we made a deal to not talk about alien invasions in my presence for a couple of years!" The penguin King burst out with a stylised pulsing vein on his head.</p><p>"Come on, Dedede, it was a joke!" Kirby justified himself with an embarassed smile.</p><p>"Anyway I, the Great King of Dream Land, will never let anything or anyone to ruin my day, come stars or come meteorites!" Dedede continued, swelling his chest with pride and snorting with puffs of steam from his nostrils.</p><p>"Well said! I take these." Kirby said, stealing a hanami dango skewer from Dedede's plate.</p><p>"Hey, my dango!"</p><p>"That's what you get for not giving me sake."</p><p>"Give me them back right now, you ugly bannet!"</p><p>Kirby put the skewer in his mouth out of spite and quickly pulled out the wood stick, suddenly swallowing all of three dango.</p><p>"You tell me what?" he asked in a provoking tone.</p><p>"You put it that way? Then say goodbye to these!"</p><p>Dedede grabbed three sakura mochi from a plate next to Kirby and put them in his mouth, gulping them down at once in front of the shocked face of friend-rival.</p><p>"Noooo, my mochi!"</p><p>"Well, as they say, what goes around comes around."</p><p>"Oh yeah? You asked for it, you scoundrel!"</p><p>The two began having a skirmish in which they pinched their cheeks each other, exchanging every now and then incomprehensible insults to Bandana Dee's ears, who seemed like to witness to similar scenes countless times, and let out an exasperated sigh before looking away from his friends and lifting up his eyes to the clear sky that displayed a light blue shade so bright to have a feeling to contemplate a watercolour painting and a small shiny spot appeared from nowhere that, with every passing second, became less blurry, adding a touch of originality to that breathtaking view.</p><p>...spot?</p><p>After a moment of confusion, Bandana Dee's eyes popped out of his head, having realised of its true nature. The thermos full of cherry juice slipped out of his hands, as he sprung to his feet and turned himself to Dedede and Kirby, who were still engaged in fighting each other, waving franticly his arms in their direction.</p><p>"Sireeee, Kirbyyyy!!!" Bandana Dee screamed at the top of his lungs.</p><p>"Uassup?" Kirby and Dedede asked him in unison, finally stopping fighting.</p><p>"There's a meteorite falling down onto us! Quick, we must ruuuunnnnnnnn!!" Bandana Dee hysterically clamoured.</p><p>"What did you say?!" The pink puffball and the penguin exclaimed, taking their hand off their cheeks each other due to the shock. They looked up in synchrony and had the proof of Bandana Dee's words: an incandescent bluish globe was falling down from the sky at an impressive speed and more seconds passed, the more it got closer.</p><p>"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" All three of them yelled at the same time, before running like hell and leaving a long white dust trail behind them, just in time for the meteorite to crash into the ground and produce a deafening roar. The impact was so violent that not only created a 12-cm-diameter crater, but bent also the Whispy Wood to 90°, whose branches stood on end for fear and a handful of cherry blossom petals had fallen on the ground, partially covering the crater.</p><p>Kirby, Dedede and Bandana Dee had watched the whole scene at some meters distance, incredulous of what just happened, their eyes bugging out of their head in anytime. They stood like that for a little while, then Kirby turned himself to Dedede with an angry expression on his face and a cross-popping vein on his head and exclaimed: "It's all your fault!"</p><p>Offended, Dedede turned towards Kirby and replied: "How was it my fault?"</p><p>"Because if you had kept that jinxed mouth of yours shut, that meteorite wouldn't have fallen down here and <i>literally </i>destroyed our picnic!"</p><p>"But I said so to say, how could I possibly imagine that it was a matter of time before that thing really came from the sky?!"</p><p>"It doesn't change the fact that you talk too much."</p><p>"Well, if you want to dot the i's and cross the t's so bad, you're pretty jinxed too."</p><p>"What are you implying?"</p><p>"Before you mentioned alien invasions and, surprise surprise, a meteorite almost hit us in no time. I don't think it's random, do you?" Dedede said in an accusing tone, crossing his arms, his eyes emitting sparkles.</p><p>"I just think you dropped on your head much as a child." Kirby responded, doing the same.</p><p>"How dare you?!"</p><p>"Majesty, Kirby, this is not the moment to fight, for heaven's sake! Look over there!" Bandana Dee incited them, pointing with his tiny arm at the crater in front of them, from whose mouth came a bluish faint light as if intentionally wanted them to notice it.</p><p>Kirby and Dedede turned themself to the direction indicated by their friend and as soon as they saw the light, quickly forgot their caustic banter.</p><p>"What...?" The penguin king commented, puzzled.</p><p>Kirby didn't say anything instead and, driven by curiosity, separated himself from the group, going towards the crater with great strides.</p><p>"Hey, I'm coming too!" Dedede shouted after him, trotting along behind him.</p><p>"W-wait, it might be dangerous!" Bandana Dee cried in a vain attempt to warn his King and his best friend. Then, thinking that he'd better not to leave them alone and summoning up his courage, decided to follow them, ready to pull his spear out in case the situation took a turn for the worst.</p><p>When the Waddle Dee caught up with them, he stopped himself near them and immediately noticed their upset expressions.</p><p>"Highness, Kirby, why do you-"</p><p>An raised arm of his King caused him to interrupt himself, inviting him to look at the direction indicated. Bandana Dee glanced away, peeked beyond the borders of the crater and could hardly believe his eyes.</p><p>The meteorite which nearly killed them was none other than an azure long wavy haired girl who apparently lost consciousness; her refined silk dress of the same colour, ripped and bloodstained in several places, betrayed her rank of a princess of noble birth of a distant planet. However, the detail really stood out was the amount of wounds all over her body, including the ones on her hands, one of which held a dirty bluish spherical crystal, big like a Christmas bauble, whose light completely surrounded the girl like a sort of protective shield that probably made sure she wasn't harmed by the impact on the earth and the presence of the cherry blossoms' petals everywhere on the ground made the whole situation even more surreal. If not for the bloodstains, one could describe the girl as the classic fairytale princess to wake up from a sleeping curse with a true love's kiss.</p><p>And then a mysterious voice resonated out of blue in Kirby's mind.</p><p>
  <i>Soon your heart and that of those who are dear to you will undergo my judgement and only then you'll have to proof yourself of being worthy or not of receiving a part of me.</i>
</p><p>Kirby gasped, utterly speechless. What was that? Why him of all people? And what was the meaning of those words?</p><p>Before he could voice his questions swirling in his head, the light unexpectedly stopped shining, just as disappeared from the body of the girl.</p><p>Kirby and his friends didn't have even time to say anything, a layer of stone entirely covered the crystal in the blink of an eye, taking on the appareance of an ordinary rock like many others in Dream Land.</p><p>The trio was stunned for a few seconds, then Dedede, snapping out of his bewilderment, exclaimed: "What are we waiting for? C'mon, let's help the girl!"</p>
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